Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown. Robert O. Ballou, New York, 1933.
Price: US$500.00 + shipping
Description: 325 pages. verso of title page reads "Copyright 1933 by John Steinbeck First Published 1933" previous owner's bookplate on inside front cover with name inked out. spine and edges of front and rear covers faded. wear to top and bottom corners of rear cover snd a couple of other spots along edge. ; 5 x 7 5/8"
Seller: Chequamegon Books, Washburn, WI, U.S.A.
Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown. Robert O. Ballou, New York, NY, 1933.
Price: US$950.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: 325 pages, 12mo. No DJ. First Issue of Steinbeck's second book, one of only 598 copies actually bound and sold. Light green cloth boards with gilt lettering along spine. Top page edge stained black. Green and white illustrated inside covers and free endpapers, and title page vignette of tree illustrated by Mahlon Blaine. Shelfwear: light scuffing along edges and covers, heavy fading along top edge and spine edge of front and rear covers, heavy spine fade, a few light stains on front cover, spine is cocked lightly to the right, light tanning along page edges. Otherwise, volume is tightly bound, no marks. Volume is in Good-plus condition.
Seller: Russian Hill Bookstore, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown. Robert O. Ballou, New York, 1933.
Price: US$1750.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First Edition, First Printing with the words "First Published 1933" printed on the copyright page. A very good copy with the original dustjacket that is missing the majority of the spine. The book bound in the publisher's green cloth with discoloration to the spine. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. A very good copy with a beautiful facsimile dustjacket.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown. New York: Robert O. Ballou, 1933.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Small octavo, green cloth, gilt-lettered, with pictorial endpapers; spine sunned and soiled. First edition, first printing of Steinbeck's third book, one of only 598 copies bound and sold. Goldstone & Payne A3a. Critic Lewis Gannett's copy, with a note of provenance signed by both Michael Gannett and bookseller Bradford Morrow. A remarkable association copy of the editor of the "Portable Steinbeck"; enclosed in a custom made slipcase.
Seller: North Star Rare Books & Manuscripts, Sheffield, MA, U.S.A.
Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown. Robert O. Ballou, Publisher, New York, 1933.
Price: US$2750.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Very Good in a Very Good jacket, unclipped ($2.00), pencil writing on the front flap, generally toned, rubbed and with some chips and creases at the edges. Green cloth, foxed at the edges and spine, bumped at the lower-right corner of the front board. Firmly bound with a slight forward lean, black top stain, clean internally. An early Steinbeck novel about Joseph Wayne and his journey from New England to California.
Seller: Carpetbagger Books, Woodstock, IL, U.S.A.
Steinbeck, John. To A God Unknown. Robert Ballou, New York, 1933.
Price: US$3300.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition of Steinbeck's second book. Sm 8vo. 325 pp. One of only 598 actually bound and sold. Green cloth with gilt titles to the spine. Very good with uneven fading to the spine and toning to the edges. Black topstain unfaded. The jacket is very good or better with shallow chipping to the spine ends and a small chip (1/4" by 1/4") to the top of the right corner of the front panel. Rear panel has some toning near the spine fold.
Seller: Paul Johnson Fine Books, IOBA, Temecula, CA, U.S.A.
Steinbeck, John. TO A GOD UNKNOWN. Robert Ballou, New York, 1933.
Price: US$3500.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition bound in green cloth with slightly toned edges complete in 325 bright pages. Darkened dust jacket with a few small chips / edgewear including flap foldlines. From the American First Editions collection of Donald C. Scriven (1948-2019). Don relished points of issue and the primacy of the dust jacket but above all he loved the literature!
Seller: Hoffman Books, ABAA, IOBA, Columbus, OH, U.S.A.
Steinbeck, John. TO A GOD UNKNOWN. Robert O. Ballou, New York, 1933.
Price: US$4500.00 + shipping
Description: Octavo, pp. [1-8] 1-325 [326-328] [first and last leaves are blanks], title page printed in green and black, original green cloth, spine panel stamped in gold, top edge stained black, pictorial endpapers. First edition, first printing, first issue. The author's third book. 1498 copies were printed; this is one of 598 copies that were bound and sold. Powell, California Classics no. 19. Goldstone and Payne A3a. Morrow 22. A fine copy in nearly fine first printing pictorial dust jacket (priced $2.00 on the front flap) with shallow chipping at upper spine end and light wear at lower spine end and several small internal tape ghosts, one with faint show through on rear panel. A lovely copy. Enclosed in a custom quarter leather rounded back clamshell box. (#160410)
Seller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB, Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.
Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown. Robert O. Ballou, New York, 1933.
Price: US$5000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First edition, first issue. [vi], 325 pp. Publisher's green cloth with spine lettered in gilt, black topstain. Fine in Near Fine dust jacket, lightly worn at extremities, back panel a little dust-soiled, a little sticker remnant on front flap. An attractive copy of an uncommon first of Steinbeck's third novel, one of only 598 copies sold.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown. Robert O. Ballou, New York, 1933.
Price: US$6000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing. This First Issue dustjacket is rich in color with minor wear to the spine. The book is in great shape. The binding is tight with NO cocking or leaning. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. A wonderful copy.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
STEINBECK, John.. To a God Unknown.. New York: Robert O. Ballou, 1933, 1933.
Price: US$6416.33 + shipping
Description: First edition, first printing, of Steinbeck's first adult novel, one of 598 copies in the first issue green cloth. Although 1,498 copies were printed, only 598 were bound. Sales were slow, but after the success of Tortilla Flat in 1935, remaining sheets were bound and issued with a cancel title by different publishers. Goldstone & Payne A3(a). Octavo. Original green cloth, spine lettered in gilt, green and white illustrated endpapers, top edge black. With dust jacket. Some ghosting to cloth, as usual, extremities slightly faded, small closed tear at bottom edge of front free endpaper; jacket a little toned and rubbed, lightly chipped at extremities with a couple of neat tape repairs to verso, unclipped: a near-fine copy in very good jacket.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown. Robert O. Ballou, New York, 1933.
Price: US$7500.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First edition, first issue. Signed by Mahlon Blaine, whose illustrations appear on the the dust jacket, endsheets and title page. Bound in publisher's green cloth with spine lettered in gilt. Near Fine. Cloth lightly sunned through jacket at spine, and along top and bottom edges. Pages toned. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with light wear at the spine ends, and a short closed tear along the top edge of the front panel with some faint associated creasing. A lovely copy, signed by the illustrator. In the early '20s, Blaine met a young John Steinbeck on the Panama Canal, and the two quickly became friends. Blaine would go on illustrate the dust jacket and endsheets for Steinbeck's first novel, Cup of Gold, as well as for this title. Goldstone & Payne, A3a.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
STEINBECK, John.. To a God Unknown.. New York: Robert O. Ballou, 1933, 1933.
Price: US$8662.04 + shipping
Description: First edition, first printing. A near-fine copy in the first issue green cloth binding. Although 1,498 copies were printed only 598 were bound. Sales were slow but after the success of Tortilla Flat in 1935, remaining sheets were bound and issued with a cancel title by different publishers. Goldstone and Payne A3(a) Octavo. Original green cloth, lettering to spine in gilt, pictorial endpapers, top edge black. With dust jacket. Housed in a custom green morocco-backed folding box. Lower edge slightly sunned, consistent browning; else an attractive and near-fine copy. Light browning to dust jacket with extremities slightly worn, some small closed tears, bookseller's label to rear flap; else a near-fine example of the jacket.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown. Robert O. Ballou, New York, 1933.
Price: US$9500.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing with the words "First Published 1933" printed on the copyright page. This ORIGINAL dustjacket is vibrant in color with NO chips or tears. The book is in great shape and is bound in the publisher's green cloth. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. A lovely copy.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
Steinbeck, John. To a God Unknown. Robert O. Ballou, New York, 1933.
Price: US$12500.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing SIGNED by John Steinbeck on a laid in signature. A beautiful dustjacket that is rich in color with minor repair. This original dustjacket has all the first issue points present. The book is in excellent condition. The binding is tight, and the boards are crisp with a hint of wear to the edges. The pages are exceptionally clean, with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a superb copy of this true first edition SIGNED by the author. We buy SIGNED Steinbeck First Editions.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.